Classic-rock stalwarts Fleetwood Mac, the makers of such hits as "Go Your Own Way" and "Gold Dust Woman," brought their reunion tour to the Sprint Center on Tuesday night. Click the link to see photos from the show by The Star's Joe Ledford.
The two bands that performed at the Sprint Center on Sunday night may have fanbases with a substantial overlap, but they are at diverging points in their careers. The Flaming Lips, who opened the show, are shedding a past that has rewarded them bountifully; the Black Keys are reaping their own rewards after preaching the same sound for more than a decade.
Still riding high on their 2011 album, “El Camino,” and its Grammy-winning single, “Lonely Boy,” the blues-rock duo the Black Keys headlined a concert Sunday night at the Sprint Center. Oklahoma-based psychedelic punk rockers the Flaming Lips, who just released a new album, “The Terror,” opened the show. Click the link to see photos from the show by The Star’s Chris Ochsner.
Friday night’s four-band bill at the Midland theater was also an ersatz prom, a reason for couples to haul out some old formal wear, get dressed up and revive their high school days. The headliners were Fitz and the Tantrums, a band from Los Angeles that is into revivals, too: of the kind of pop-soul that radio played in the late 1960s and into the 1970s.
Every empty seat in Helzberg Hall on Friday night signified someone’s missed opportunity to witness one of the most uplifting, rewarding and musically satisfying shows in Kansas City this year. Bobby McFerrin melds scat-singing, vocalise, beat-box and an encyclopedic catalogue of melodic knowledge into a performance style that’s very physics is boggling.
A KC jazz project gathers around songwriter Beck’s “Song Reader,” a group of 20 songs that existed only on paper and awaited interpretation. Pianist Mark Lowrey and others will perform all the songs Friday night at RecordBar.
The Lied Center of Kansas will mark its 20th anniversary season with an eclectic mix of musical theater, world music and classical performances — including the legendary Hal Holbrook, who returns to the area with his signature performance of “Mark Twain Tonight.”
Friday night, Grisly Hand will headline at Knuckleheads, celebrating the release of “Country Singles,” the band’s christening in the world of thematic, full-length recordings. “Singles” also is evidence of Grisly Hand’s evolution to a band with its own solid identity and clear voice.
Gerald Clayton, the top-notch young pianist who’s bringing his trio to the Blue Room on Saturday, is searching for new grooves and sounds but plays with taste and style, the kind that comes out of tradition, related to that thing called swing.
In spite of the impeccable support provided by a five-piece band, Belton native Tate Stevens wasn’t able to put a distinctive stamp on the familiar material, casting a modicum of doubt on the commercial viability of a great guy with a good voice.
The summer has always been prime time for live music. This year is no different. All of the live venues have a list of big shows, and most of the indoor venues are as busy as usual. Here is a list of shows that will make this a summer to be remembered.
Megan Birdsall has a cold. A knit cap covers her straight blondish-red hair. She’s poking around near the piano at Jardine’s looking for something, then sound-checks the microphone.
Eldar Djangirov, the room-filling pianist, returned to Kansas City Sunday for a multi-night run at Jardine’s and took no time at all to endear himself to a loyal crowd. In the first set, the onetime prodigy showed off the full range of his talents, as a formidable performer and now an emerging composer.
On Wednesday night, Tina Turner opens her North American tour at the Sprint Center. If you’re going to the show and it’s your first at the Sprint Center, be warned: Fans have complained about the acoustics.
On the way: Steely Dan, Straight No Chaser, Guns N’ Roses, Kelly Rowland, Carly Rae Jepsen
American Idol Live, June 30, Sprint Center. $33.50-$66
Four engaging young Canadians known as the Tenors beguiled a capacity crowd Friday night at the Midland Theatre with a polished road show that covered musical territory from immortal tenor arias to American religious music to Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan to Broadway tunes and to original material.
Tickets for Mary J. Blige, Robert Cray, Iron Maiden and Megadeth tickets go on sale Friday.
The Harriman-Jewell Series presented an eclectic performance Thursday by Cantus, a nine-voice, Minneapolis-based men’s vocal chamber ensemble. “On the Shoulders of Giants” was a polished and rewarding program to hear. The really outstanding voice of the nine belongs to tenor Paul Rudoi, but there’s no weak link in the group.
